Cathay Pacific and Dragonair Staff Honoured for Service Excellence at Betsy Awards

02 Jun 2010

(HONG KONG) Cathay Pacific Airways today held its 6th Betsy Awards Presentation Ceremony to honour 16 staff for their extraordinary acts of customer service to passengers. From offering special care to young, old or sick passengers to finding solutions for anxious passengers at the airport, service staff from Cathay Pacific and Dragonair once again showed they are willing to go the extra mile to make passengers feel special.

This year’s service stars were drawn from cabin crew, reservations staff and airport teams, from Hong Kong and overseas. The winners were shortlisted from a big pool of noteworthy customer service acts last year and were appraised on their level of going beyond the call of duty, the value provided to passengers, the level of inspiration to staff and the level of promoting Cathay Pacific/Dragonair services.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler praised the Betsy winners for being an inspiration to staff and taking pride in delivering the highest standards of service to passengers. “All the winners went beyond their call of duty and offered extra care and attention to our customers when it was most needed. They have shown how little it takes just to walk that extra mile, and what they have done speaks volumes about themselves and the airlines,” he said.

The overall winner this year was Senior Purser Sonal Sud, who acted as a translator for an elderly couple who needed medical assistance on the ground and then accompanied them to hospital. When she arrived home she kept calling the hospital to check on them, also calling their children in San Francisco. In the morning she met the couple at the airport and made arrangements to ensure they were well looked after on the flight.

“I’ve always wanted all my passengers to feel like I’ve done everything for them after their flight,” says Sonal.

In recognition of their service excellence, all the Betsy winners received a unique Betsy gold pin and certificate. They will also have the opportunity to enjoy a unique experience such as a visit to the Boeing or Airbus aircraft plants to participating in activities such as a Cathay Pacific inaugural flight and a UNICEF-organised field trip.

A Betsy Award is the highest accolade given to Cathay Pacific and Dragonair staff in recognition of their service excellence. This year’s winners bring the total number of award recipients to 89 since the programme was launched in 2005. The Betsys are named after the first Cathay Pacific aircraft – a DC-3 that operated for the airline from 1946.

The 6th Betsy Awards Presentation Ceremony honoured 16 staff from Cathay Pacific and Dragonair for their extraordinary acts of customer service to passengers.